Reflecting standard with retractable legs



Feb. 20, 1962 G. KARCHENES REFLECTING STANDARD WITH RETRACTABLE LEGS Filed April 2, 1959 INVENTOR. efifa rp'e fkifl/faezea BY 4%WM M Filed Apr. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 803,710 6 Claims. (Cl. 8879) This invention relates to a portable standard, such as a road warning signal device or support, and particularly to a standard having legs which may be retracted and stored within the device.

Collapsible tripod or quadripod standards and the like have been long used in which the legs may be folded when not in use. Some such tripods have legs which must be manually arranged in position when the standard is erected or moved from one position to another. Other standards have hinged struts or multi-apertured plates which hold the legs open, but which are complicated and expensive to manufacture. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a standard with self storing legs which is extremely simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, and yet which locks the legs in expanded position when desired. Further objects are to provide a compact structure which may be used with legs retracted as a hand held signalling device, or placed on the ground as a fixed signal when the legs are extended.

According to the invention a standard comprises guide means, a weight slidable on an axis along the guide means, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight, and means at one end of the guide means forming an opening through which the legs may be extended in directicons divergent from said opening, the opening forming means being shaped to spread the legs and cause the legs to cross and bear against each other so as to support each other in divergent position.

Preferably the guide is in the form of a hollow tube having a light-reflecting coating or layer on part or all of its exterior surface, the legs being retractable into the tube so that the tube may be held or waved in the hand unencumbered by projecting legs.

For the purpose of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a standard with its legs extended;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the standard with legs retracted;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of a weight to legs are attached;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the standard; and

FIG. 5 is a section on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 is on a larger scale than FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are on a still larger scale.

The illustrated standard comprises a metal or plastic tube 1 on which are secured alternating stripes R and W of contrasting headlight reflecting tape or coating. The upper end of the tube is closed by a cap 2, and in the lower end is secured an annular member 3 forming an opening 4. The end cap 2 and member 3 may be formed integrally with the tube 1.

A cylindrical weight 5 makes a free sliding fit and is guided within the tube. At the lower end of the weight is an annular wall 6 having four openings 7 receiving hooks 8 at the ends of legs 9. The legs 9 and weight 5 are of a length approximately equal to the distance between the tube cap and member 3 so that the legs may be nearly fully retracted and contained within the tube as shown in FIG. 2. With the legs so retracted into approximate parallelism, when the tube is inverted from the position of FIG. 2 it may be hand held or waved as a warning or directing signal.

which the States atent G If, when the tube is in the position of FIG. 2, the weight is allowed to force the legs out through the opening 4, the legs will be spread to the position shown in FIG. 1 by virtue of the following structural relationship between the legs, the pivot points of the legs and the diameter of the diameter of the opening 4 in the member 3. The pivot points of the leg hooks 8 are substantially the same radial distance from the common axes of the tube 1 and the cylindrical weight 5 as are the openings in the annular wall 6. The radius of the circular opening 4 in the end member 3 is, however less than the abovementioned radial pivot distance and the outermost surface of the legs adjacent the pivots. Thus, as the weight approaches the opening 4, the legs are swung to increasingly divergent positions. As they spread, the legs cross and hear upwardly against each other as shown in FIG. 5, and thereby lock each other in divergent position under the force of the weight 4. The standard may then be picked up by the tubular portion without causing collapse of the legs and consequent difiiculty in replacing of the standard on the ground.

I While a tubular guide has been described, other types of guides for the weight may be employed and although the locus of the pivot points of the legs and the opening 4 have been shown as circular, other configurations may be desirable. For example, where the standard is not centrally balanced one or more legs may be longer and more inclined than others. I

Thus it will be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention includes all modifications and equivalents which are within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A standard comprising guide means, a weight slidable on an axis along the guide means, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight, and means at one end of the guide means forming a single opening through which the legs may be extended in directions divergent from said opening, the opening forming means being shaped to spread the legs and cause the legs to cross and bear against each other so as to support each other in divergent position, and lock each other in divergent position even when not resting on the ground.

2. A standard comprising guide means, a Weight slidable on an axis along the guide means, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight at predetermined radial distances from said axis, and means at one end of said guide means forming a single opening through which the legs may be extended, said opening extending around said axis at a radial distance less than said predetermined radial distances to cause said legs to diverge and support each other in divergent position, and lock each other in divergent position even when not resting on the ground when extended through said opening by sliding of the weight toward the opening.

3. A standard comprising guide means, a weight slidable on an axis along the guide means, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight at predetermined radial distances from said axis, and means at one end of said guide means forming a single opening through which the legs may be extended, said opening extending around said axis at a radial distance less than said predetermined radial distances to cause said legs to diverge and support each other in divergent position, and lock each other in divergent position even when not resting on the ground when extended through said opening by sliding of the weight toward the opening, said opening urging the legs toward parallelism along said axis when the weight slides away from the opening.

4. A standard comprising guide means, a weight slidable on an axis along the guide means, at least three legs 3 pivotally connected around the Weight at a predetermined radial distance from said axis and at equally spaced intervals, and means at one end of said guide means forming a single opening through which the legs may be extended, said opening extending around said axis at a radial distance less than said predetermined radial distance to cause said legs to diverge and support each other in divergent position, and lock each other in divergent position even when not resting on the ground when extended through said opening by sliding of the weight toward the opening.

57 A standard comprising a tube closed at one end and having a light reflecting coating on its exterior, a weight slidable along the axis within the tube, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight at a predetermined radial distance from said axis and at spaced intervals, and means at one end of the tube forming a single axial opening through which the legs may be extended, said opening extending around said axis at a radial distance less than said predetermined radial distance to cause said legs to diverge and support each other in divergent position, and lock each other in divergent position even when not resting on the ground when extended through said opening by sliding of the weight toward the opening so that said tube may be stood upright without manipulation of the legs.

6. A standard comprising a tube closed at one end and having a light reflecting coating on its exterior, a weight slidable along an axis within the tube, a plurality of legs pivotally connected around the weight at a predetermined said tube may be stood upright without manipulation of the legs, said legs being approximately the same length as the tube so that they may be retracted substantially into parallelism within the tube when the tube is inverted and the weight slides toward the closed end of the tube, whereby the tube may be used as a hand held signalling device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 611,754 Koelle Oct. 4, 1898 651,649 Brown June 12, 1900 680,177 Rosskopf Aug. 6, 1901 1,863,756 Lufkin June 21, 1932 2,487,644 Frye Nov. 8, 1949 2,646,638 Peterson July 28, 1953 2,749,147 He'rrsehaft June 5 1956 2,781,017 Fuller et a1 Feb. 12, 1957 2,869,504 Andrews et al Jan. 20, 1959 

